3 Days To Decide... Cincy v. Oregon v. Richmond Forum

[rgdavis2]

I do not have any strong regional bias and would like to attend the school that will give me the best job prospects.

I have not been able to visit any of these schools but I assume I would most enjoy the setting at Oregon, being an hour from the ocean and an hour from the mountains. Anyone who has visited/attended one of these schools please share your experience.

I anticipate the living expenses at each of these schools to be roughly the same. Richmond and Cincy would be cheaper in terms of tuition and are ranked higher than Oregon, do you think it would be a good idea for me to call Oregon's admission office and request additional aid? There are no stipulations on any of the scholarships except staying above a 2.0 GPA.

These schools are obviously not T14 but are all T100 and I'm not extremely concerned with the disparity in their rankings.

Thoughts? Cries of outrage? Bewildered expressions on the slightly chaotic state of the cosmos?

[bendtheslurry]

I'm considering cincy as well and one thing that does concern me (besides moving to Ohio) is that there are something like nine other law schools in that state, including one with a very strong alumni support network.

[rgdavis2]

I'm considering cincy as well and one thing that does concern me (besides moving to Ohio) is that there are something like nine other law schools in that state, including one with a very strong alumni support network.

Yeah, same. Richmond also faces a lot of competition in state and in the area. In terms of the strength of alumni network Oregon has to be the best choice of the 3 schools I have whittled this decision down to.

Also, if you go would you be living in N Kentucky? I would, the tuition figure I provided is based on the GMR.

[bendtheslurry]

I'm considering cincy as well and one thing that does concern me (besides moving to Ohio) is that there are something like nine other law schools in that state, including one with a very strong alumni support network.

Yeah, same. Richmond also faces a lot of competition in state and in the area. In terms of the strength of alumni network Oregon has to be the best choice of the 3 schools I have whittled this decision down to.

Also, if you go would you be living in N Kentucky? I would, the tuition figure I provided is based on the GMR.

Yes I was only considering with the GMR. I was at the asd last month and didn't really get an overall warm and fuzzy feeling from the place. The other schools I am considering are south Carolina and lsu

[rgdavis2]

I'm considering cincy as well and one thing that does concern me (besides moving to Ohio) is that there are something like nine other law schools in that state, including one with a very strong alumni support network.

Yeah, same. Richmond also faces a lot of competition in state and in the area. In terms of the strength of alumni network Oregon has to be the best choice of the 3 schools I have whittled this decision down to.

Also, if you go would you be living in N Kentucky? I would, the tuition figure I provided is based on the GMR.

Yes I was only considering with the GMR. I was at the asd last month and didn't really get an overall warm and fuzzy feeling from the place. The other schools I am considering are south Carolina and lsu

Can you elaborate on this lack of a warm, fuzzy feeling?

[rgdavis2]

Oregon is one of 10 law schools in the nation that have 3 top 10 programs, including: environmental, legal writing, and dispute resolution.

Only ten law schools in the nation have three or more top specialty ranked programs, including Stanford University, Harvard University, Columbia University, Georgetown University and George Washington University.

Does this mean their other programs are lacking way behind the three in the top 10? Do individual program rankings not matter? I'm struggling to figure out why Oregon is ranked so much lower than Cincinnati.

[dissonance1848]

Do Oregon. Less competition.

[Grizz]

Oregon is one of 10 law schools in the nation that have 3 top 10 programs, including: environmental, legal writing, and dispute resolution.

Only ten law schools in the nation have three or more top specialty ranked programs, including Stanford University, Harvard University, Columbia University, Georgetown University and George Washington University.

Does this mean their other programs are lacking way behind the three in the top 10? Do individual program rankings not matter? I'm struggling to figure out why Oregon is ranked so much lower than Cincinnati.

Specialty rankings are worthless.

[Grizz]

Do Oregon. Less competition.

[rgdavis2]

Do Oregon. Less competition.

I have been thinking this, also I think the COL in Eugene might be a few thousand less than the other two so the tuition difference might be negligible.

Mainly, though, I am beyond excited by the prospect of living in a natural playground where my weekend activities will not always be followed by a hangover.

[bendtheslurry]

I'm considering cincy as well and one thing that does concern me (besides moving to Ohio) is that there are something like nine other law schools in that state, including one with a very strong alumni support network.

Yeah, same. Richmond also faces a lot of competition in state and in the area. In terms of the strength of alumni network Oregon has to be the best choice of the 3 schools I have whittled this decision down to.

Also, if you go would you be living in N Kentucky? I would, the tuition figure I provided is based on the GMR.

Yes I was only considering with the GMR. I was at the asd last month and didn't really get an overall warm and fuzzy feeling from the place. The other schools I am considering are south Carolina and lsu

Can you elaborate on this lack of a warm, fuzzy feeling?

I didn't like the city at all. I just assumed that I could pick up and move anywhere and just deal with it..but I am really glad I visited first. The law building itself is atrocious and all the current students kept harping about how they were going to remodel it to be ready for 2015. They seemed excited about this but really..if the new building isn't going to benefit me..then I don't care. They also said it was being built while classes were going on...I'm not sure how this works but I don't know if I want to be studying law while jack hammers are pounding at concrete outside.

[rgdavis2]

I'm considering cincy as well and one thing that does concern me (besides moving to Ohio) is that there are something like nine other law schools in that state, including one with a very strong alumni support network.

I didn't like the city at all. I just assumed that I could pick up and move anywhere and just deal with it..but I am really glad I visited first. The law building itself is atrocious and all the current students kept harping about how they were going to remodel it to be ready for 2015. They seemed excited about this but really..if the new building isn't going to benefit me..then I don't care. They also said it was being built while classes were going on...I'm not sure how this works but I don't know if I want to be studying law while jack hammers are pounding at concrete outside.[/quote]

The setting and aesthetic of a law school aren't top priorities but in that department I think Cincinnati lags pretty far behind the other two schools listed. They are, however, the highest ranked of the three and may cost the least.

[pwyoung]

Hiring for Oregon is pretty low and even the best don't end up far. There's just not much money in the area, and you can't go too far north without facing an uphill battle against UW and Lewis & Clark grads, and heading south, well... California is another beast.

That being said, COL in Oregon isn't too bad and you can carve out a comfortable life there. If you're used to big cities and tons of opportunities in that format, it might not be for you. But it sounds like Oregon would be a good fit for you.

[rgdavis2]

Hiring for Oregon is pretty low and even the best don't end up far. There's just not much money in the area, and you can't go too far north without facing an uphill battle against UW and Lewis & Clark grads, and heading south, well... California is another beast.

That being said, COL in Oregon isn't too bad and you can carve out a comfortable life there. If you're used to big cities and tons of opportunities in that format, it might not be for you. But it sounds like Oregon would be a good fit for you.

I'm definitely not used to big cities, I actually graduated high school with less than 40 people but also am graduating from one of the bigger UGs in the country.

Do you think that hiring at Cincy or Richmond would be significantly easier to come by?

[Borhas]

U of R probably has the best placement out of those schools, and I know for sure that Richmond has a low COL cause I lived there for about 15 years... VA has a very strong job market in general, you probably won't compete so well in the DC market, but the rest of VA and south is not too bad.

EDIT: I take that back

It seems Cinci does comparably well

[rgdavis2]

U of R probably has the best placement out of those schools, and I know for sure that Richmond has a low COL cause I lived there for about 15 years... VA has a very strong job market in general, you probably won't compete so well in the DC market, but the rest of VA and south is not too bad.

What is your overall opinion of living in Richmond? Have you spent much time on campus or in the law school?

[Borhas]

Richmond was my home for a long time, so I love it... but I have to love it, know what I mean?

Actually, Richmond if a fine city, it's pretty eclectic all around... but not amazing for any one thing. There's a significant amount of cool stuff to do in downtown Richmond (if you're into concerts, the National is terrific). Richmond has lots of highways so if you have a car (and living in VA, you need a car) you can travel around the city very quickly (and to other parts of VA if you wish).

I don't think I've gone to the law school, but I've been on campus several times in my day. U of R's campus is beautiful, it's no UVa or JMU but it's very charming, it's in one of the affluent suburban areas of Richmond, but only about 4-5 miles from downtown. U of R kind of has a reputation as being the stuffy rich folks schools, but I don't think that's a bad rep for a law school, and it certainly gets a great deal of respect in Virginia.

[rgdavis2]

Richmond was my home for a long time, so I love it... but I have to love it, know what I mean?

Actually, Richmond if a fine city, it's pretty eclectic all around... but not amazing for any one thing. There's a significant amount of cool stuff to do in downtown Richmond (if you're into concerts, the National is terrific). Richmond has lots of highways so if you have a car (and living in VA, you need a car) you can travel around the city very quickly (and to other parts of VA if you wish).

I don't think I've gone to the law school, but I've been on campus several times in my day. U of R's campus is beautiful, it's no UVa or JMU but it's very charming, it's in one of the affluent suburban areas of Richmond, but only about 4-5 miles from downtown. U of R kind of has a reputation as being the stuffy rich folks schools, but I don't think that's a bad rep for a law school, and it certainly gets a great deal of respect in Virginia.

What do you mean by the stuffy rich folk reputation? Is that more for UG or is the average law student there wealthier than most?

[Borhas]

I mean that the school, thanks mostly to its UG, has a reputation as a home for the children of wealthy, conservative, WASP families of Virginia (not so much Northern Virginia any more though).... unless they can get into UVa

[rgdavis2]

Lots of people are voting for Oregon, would you mind posting why you are voting that way?

[rgdavis2]

I'm currently leaning toward Oregon, any more opinions on this? I'll hopefully be making this decision by tomorrow.

[mrwarre85]

Oregon is one of 10 law schools in the nation that have 3 top 10 programs, including: environmental, legal writing, and dispute resolution.

Only ten law schools in the nation have three or more top specialty ranked programs, including Stanford University, Harvard University, Columbia University, Georgetown University and George Washington University.

Does this mean their other programs are lacking way behind the three in the top 10? Do individual program rankings not matter? I'm struggling to figure out why Oregon is ranked so much lower than Cincinnati.

Specialty rankings are worthless.

Wrong. What you mean is that specialty rankings wont help anyone get biglaw. Some people actually care about the education they get while attending grad school.

[rgdavis2]

Oregon is one of 10 law schools in the nation that have 3 top 10 programs, including: environmental, legal writing, and dispute resolution.

Only ten law schools in the nation have three or more top specialty ranked programs, including Stanford University, Harvard University, Columbia University, Georgetown University and George Washington University.

Does this mean their other programs are lacking way behind the three in the top 10? Do individual program rankings not matter? I'm struggling to figure out why Oregon is ranked so much lower than Cincinnati.

Specialty rankings are worthless.

Wrong. What you mean is that specialty rankings wont help anyone get biglaw. Some people actually care about the education they get while attending grad school.

I'm very interested in dispute resolution and legal writing, do you think that Oregon being ranked in the top 10 nationally in both of those should influence my decision to go there?

[DCDuck]

Yes. Oregon also has a well-regarded ADR Master's degree program. Specialty rankings don't mean a whole lot job market-wise, but it demonstrates a strong curriculum in those areas, which, if you're interested in the area, is a good thing.

[mpj_3050]

I would go with Oregon based on the competition aspect. Cincinnati really isn't a terrible city and the class size is pretty small but there are a ton of law schools in Ohio and the others mostly produce large classes. Cincy also has competition from other places as well. I know nothing about Richmond.